Control

Control is an Action Adventure title from 2019 that stresses both the CPU and GPU in different ways, and the measured data for the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 reveals a pairing that is firmly balanced toward the graphics card at higher resolutions while leaving headroom for the processor at 1080p. The Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX is a 14-core, 14-thread mobile processor based on the Arrow Lake-HX architecture, built on a 3 nm process by TSMC, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. Its cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3, which is substantial for a mobile part. The CPU posts an average benchmark score of 52073, placing it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs tested, and its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 8124P (deltaPct -0.1), the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (deltaPct 0.2), the Intel Core i7-14700 (deltaPct -0.4), and the Intel Core i9-13900F (deltaPct 0.7). These deltas are minuscule, meaning the 235HX is statistically tied with a desktop Ryzen 9 5950X and a Core i7-14700, which is remarkable for a laptop chip. In Cinebench R23, the processor scores 34731 multi-core and 4903 single-core, while in PassMark multithread it hits 40849 and single-thread 4683. The data shows a CPU that is not going to bottleneck a mid-range GPU like the RTX 4060 in most scenarios, especially given its strong single-thread performance which is critical for Control's physics and AI systems.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX brings 14 cores and 14 threads, which is an unusual configuration that omits Hyper-Threading, but the Arrow Lake architecture compensates with high per-core efficiency. The boost clock of 5.10 GHz is the key figure for Control, as this game relies heavily on single-threaded performance for its destructible environment physics and enemy AI routines. The measured FPS data supports this: at 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 124 FPS average, which is a strong indicator that the CPU is feeding the GPU adequately. When compared to its nearest rivals, the 235HX's Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4903 puts it in the same league as desktop parts, and the deltaPct values against the Ryzen 9 5950X and Core i9-13900F are within 0.7%, meaning there is no meaningful performance gap in CPU-bound scenarios. The L3 cache of 24 MB is shared across all cores, which helps with data locality in game engines that stream assets, though Control is not particularly cache-sensitive compared to simulation-heavy titles. The 235HX's PassMark physics score of 2550 is modest, but that benchmark measures multi-threaded physics, whereas Control's physics are largely single-threaded. The CPU's 91st percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average score of 52073, indicates that it sits well above the median, and its nearest rival the AMD EPYC 8124P scores 52121 (deltaPct -0.1), showing that the mobile chip trades blows with a server processor. In practical terms for Control, the 5.10 GHz boost clock ensures that the CPU can maintain high frame rates even when the GPU is not fully saturated, which is evident in the 1080p Low result of 124 FPS. The 14-thread count may seem low for modern games, but Control's engine is not optimized for massive thread counts, so the high clock speed matters more. The data indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is rarely the limiting factor, as frame rates scale predictably with GPU settings, but at 4K Ultra, the CPU's role diminishes as the GPU becomes the bottleneck.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is an Ada Lovelace architecture GPU with a boost clock of 2460 MHz and a base clock of 1830 MHz, paired with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock runs at 2125 MHz, effectively 17 Gbps, which is adequate for a 1080p and 1440p card but becomes a constraint at 4K. The GPU's 3072 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 48 ROPs give it a raw compute throughput of 15.11 TFLOPS FP32, and it includes 24 RT cores and 96 tensor cores for ray tracing and DLSS, though Control does not heavily utilize these features in the measured settings. The RTX 4060's average benchmark score is 17639, placing it in the 61st percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals being the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (deltaPct -0.2), the AMD Radeon 780M (deltaPct 0.3), and the AMD Radeon Pro 560 (deltaPct 0.5). The deltaPct values here are again within 0.7%, but these rivals are older or integrated parts, which highlights that the RTX 4060's score is not exceptional in raw compute; its strength lies in efficiency and feature set. In Control, the GPU's 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p at all settings, but at 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 35 FPS, which suggests both VRAM capacity and bandwidth are stretched. The 128-bit memory bus is a known limitation, and the data shows a steep performance cliff as resolution increases. The GPU's TDP of 115 W is low for a discrete card, which means it is designed for laptops and small desktops, and its 272.0 GB/s bandwidth is the primary bottleneck at 4K. The RTX 4060's PassMark G3D score of 19545 is moderate, and its DirectX 12 score of 76 indicates that it handles modern APIs competently. For Control, the GPU's role is dominant at 1440p and 4K, where the 2460 MHz boost clock cannot compensate for the memory bandwidth limitations. The measured data shows that at 1080p Ultra, the combo achieves 68 FPS, which is playable, but at 4K Ultra, it falls to 35 FPS, making the experience marginal.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured FPS rows provide a clear picture of which settings preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for this combo. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 124 FPS average, Medium delivers 88 FPS, High delivers 79 FPS, and Ultra delivers 68 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium is a 36 FPS drop, which is significant, while the jump from High to Ultra is only 11 FPS. For a smooth experience on a 60 Hz display, the High preset at 1080p with 79 FPS is the sweet spot, as it provides a substantial visual uplift over Medium while maintaining a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. The Ultra preset's 68 FPS is still playable, but the extra visual fidelity may not justify the 11 FPS loss over High. At 1440p, the Low preset hits 94 FPS, Medium drops to 67 FPS, High to 59 FPS, and Ultra to 52 FPS. The High preset at 1440p is borderline at 59 FPS, which is just under 60, so the Medium preset at 67 FPS is the recommended choice for a locked 60 FPS experience. The Medium preset at 1440p also has a measured min FPS of 57 and max of 77, indicating that frame times are relatively stable. At 4K, the Low preset achieves 64 FPS, Medium 45 FPS, High 40 FPS, and Ultra 35 FPS. The Low preset at 4K is the only one that maintains a playable frame rate above 60 FPS, and it does so with 64 FPS, but the visual compromise is severe. The Medium preset at 45 FPS is not smooth enough for fast-paced action, so for 4K, the Low preset is the only viable option, though it sacrifices most graphical features. Overall, the data suggests that 1080p High is the best experience, as it balances visual quality with a comfortable frame rate, while 1440p Medium is the optimal choice for higher resolution without dropping below 60 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combo of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 1738 out of 2888 tested combos in Control, placing it in the 40th percentile of all combinations. This ranking indicates that while the individual components are solid, the pairing is not optimized for this specific game, as many other combos outperform it. The combo's rank is heavily influenced by the GPU's 61st percentile score, which drags the overall performance down compared to combos with higher-end graphics cards. The CPU's 91st percentile ranking is offset by the GPU's more modest standing, and the data shows that the bottleneck shifts from CPU to GPU as resolution increases. At 1080p, the combo's performance is competitive, but at 4K, it falls behind many combos with more powerful GPUs. The rank of 1738 out of 2888 means that roughly 60% of tested combos achieve better average FPS in Control, which is expected given that the RTX 4060 is a mid-range GPU. However, the combo's performance is not poor; it is simply outclassed by setups with higher-end GPUs. The nearest GPU rivals, such as the AMD Radeon 780M with a deltaPct of 0.3, show that the RTX 4060 is not far ahead of integrated graphics in raw benchmark scores, which explains its lower ranking in a GPU-heavy title like Control. The combo's rank does not reflect the CPU's strength, as the 235HX is a capable processor, but in Control, the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The data indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where the CPU can keep the GPU fed, and the rank would likely be higher if only 1080p results were considered. The overall rank of 1738 is a composite, and it underscores that the RTX 4060 is the bottleneck in this pairing.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals a clear resolution scaling pattern that identifies the GPU as the primary limiting component. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 79 at 1080p to 59 at 1440p (a 25% decrease) and then to 40 at 4K (a 32% decrease from 1440p). This steep decline is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering load increases exponentially with pixel count. At Low settings, the FPS drops from 124 at 1080p to 94 at 1440p (a 24% decrease) and then to 64 at 4K (a 32% decrease from 1440p). The consistent percentage drops across settings indicate that the GPU's raw throughput and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors, as the CPU's performance does not degrade with resolution. At Medium settings, the FPS drops from 88 at 1080p to 67 at 1440p (a 24% decrease) and then to 45 at 4K (a 33% decrease from 1440p). The Ultra settings show the same pattern: 68 at 1080p, 52 at 1440p (a 24% decrease), and 35 at 4K (a 33% decrease from 1440p). The uniformity of these percentage drops across all settings strongly suggests that the GPU is the bottleneck, as the CPU's frame time remains constant regardless of resolution. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the FPS would remain flat or drop less severely at higher resolutions. The data also shows that the 4K results are particularly hampered by the RTX 4060's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus, as the 4K Ultra result of 35 FPS is below playable thresholds. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is more manageable, with a 24-25% drop, which is typical for a mid-range GPU, but the 1440p to 4K drop is steeper, indicating that the memory bandwidth becomes a critical constraint. The conclusion is that this combo is best used at 1080p, where the CPU and GPU are well matched, and that any resolution above 1440p will be dominated by GPU limitations.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS breakdown provides a comprehensive view of the combo's performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 124 FPS, which is the highest result in the entire dataset, indicating that the CPU is not a bottleneck at this resolution. The Medium preset at 1080p achieves 88 FPS average, with a minimum of 75 FPS and a maximum of 102 FPS, showing a stable frame time distribution. The High preset at 1080p drops to 79 FPS average, and the Ultra preset falls to 68 FPS average. The 1080p results span from 68 to 124 FPS, a range of 56 FPS, which gives the user significant flexibility in choosing between visual quality and frame rate. At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 94 FPS average, which is still above 60 FPS, but the Medium preset drops to 67 FPS average, with a minimum of 57 FPS and a maximum of 77 FPS. The High preset at 1440p is 59 FPS average, just below the 60 FPS target, and the Ultra preset is 52 FPS average. The 1440p results span from 52 to 94 FPS, a range of 42 FPS, which is narrower than 1080p, indicating that the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor. At 3840x2160, the Low preset achieves 64 FPS average, which is the only 4K result above 60 FPS, while the Medium preset drops to 45 FPS average, with a minimum of 38 FPS and a maximum of 52 FPS. The High preset at 4K is 40 FPS average, and the Ultra preset is 35 FPS average. The 4K results span from 35 to 64 FPS, a range of 29 FPS, which is the narrowest range, confirming that the GPU is severely constrained at this resolution. The data also shows that the Medium preset at 1440p (67 FPS) is nearly identical in performance to the High preset at 1080p (79 FPS), with a 12 FPS difference, which suggests that the user can trade resolution for settings to achieve a similar frame rate. The 4K Medium result of 45 FPS is below the 60 FPS target, but it is the only 4K setting with measured min/max data, showing a range of 38 to 52 FPS, which indicates some frame time variance. Overall, the measured FPS data provides a clear performance hierarchy: 1080p is fully playable at all settings, 1440p is playable at Low and Medium, and 4K is only playable at Low settings.